Washington Park Neighborhood Preservation and Enhancement Dist.

Message From The Governer's Office

Aug 08, 2003

The Florida Legislature announced an agreement today on key elements of
medical malpractice insurance reform to protect access to healthcare for the
more than 16 million people. This achievement is the result of intense
debate on this important issue, and it creates the opportunity for lawmakers
to now pass a reform package. Governor Bush will call the Legislature back
for a final Special Session on Tuesday so they can finalize and pass this
reform.

Medical malpractice reform is a complex issue and lawmakers faced the
difficult challenge of identifying the right solution for Florida. In one
of the more prolonged public debates, lawmakers disagreed on whether to
place a certain cap on non-economic damages. This week they agreed to
reasonable caps. Another debate focused on whether to create a state-run
insurance company. This idea was ultimately shelved because of the huge
potential burden it would place on taxpayers. Other ideas that didn't make
the cut included implementing a new multi-million tax on Floridians, and
creating additional regulatory burdens that would drive the remaining
insurers from the state. Until recently, there was ongoing debate among a
minority of legislators as to whether Florida was even in a crisis.

The process worked as it is designed to. Despite vast initial differences,
all sides have moved toward compromise. The result is comprehensive
legislation that should ensure Floridians continue to have access to their
doctors, that doctors continue to practice in our state, and that insurers
will return to Florida. Governor Bush challenged the Legislature to address
the crisis in a meaningful way, and provided the leadership required to stay
the course until they met this important goal.

From the beginning of this process, Governor Bush has maintained that true
reform must meet four criteria, based upon the findings and recommendations
of an independent, academic task force that studied the problem in 2002:

1. It must improve access to quality care for patients.
2. It must revive Florida's insurance market
3. It must ensure the state's litigation system is fair.
4. It must improve physician discipline.

The proposed plan is a comprehensive reform that includes each of these
principles. It reflects the Governor's belief in the free market system,
and his continued commitment to ensuring Floridians have access to the best
doctors and medical care in the world. Highlights of the proposed bill are
below for your review.


HIGHLIGHTS OF MEDICAL LIABILITY REFORM AGREEMENT

"The principle of any reform to our medical liability system must be
improved patient care, a better system of discipline for physicians, a
revived insurance market, and a fair litigation system. This agreement
represents compromise by everyone, with the ultimate goal of ensuring all of
us have access to our healthcare system at the time we most need it."
Governor Jeb Bush

Findings

?· The House, Senate and Governor agree that Florida is in a state of crisis
in access to health care, and that a comprehensive solution is needed to
address the crisis.

Litigation Reform

?· Provides a physician cap on non-economic damages of $150,000 for the
emergency setting, with an aggregate cap of $300,000.

?· Provides a cap on non-economic damages of $500,000 for each physician with
an aggregate cap of $1 million for all claimants.

?· Provides a cap on non-economic damages of $750,000 per claimant for
hospitals, HMOs, Hospice providers and other non-physician entities with an
aggregate cap of $1.5 million for all claimants.

?· Allows caps to be pierced to aggregate amount in the event of death,
permanent vegetative state or other extraordinary circumstances.

?· Reforms many of the processes involved in litigation, such as expert
witness discovery, credentialing of expert witnesses, and taking of unsworn
statements.

?· Addresses the Supreme Court's Villazon decision, which will prevent
lawsuits against managed care providers for malpractice when the HMO
exercises no control over the practitioner; thus preventing a runaway
increase in health insurance premiums for Florida's workers.

?· Provides for itemized verdicts in medical malpractice cases.


Improved Patient Safety and Physician Discipline Highlights

?· Broadens immunity for hospitals and peer reviewers when taking
disciplinary action against physicians.

?· Patients must be notified in person by facility or licensed health care
practitioner in the event of harm.

?· Each healthcare facility will be required to have a patient safety system
and plan, including a patient safety officer and a patient safety committee.

?· Requires hospitals to report names and judgments against health care
practitioners for whom they assume liability.

?· Provides civil immunity for participants in facility boards and committees
that review professional and institutional quality of care and patient
safety.

?· Requires patient safety continuing education for physicians.

?· Expands reporting requirements for profiles of physician licensure and
disciplinary information on the Internet so consumers have more relevant
information when making healthcare decisions.

?· Allows Department of Health to subpoena patient records to facilitate
handling of disciplinary cases.

?· Changes the disciplinary procedures so the Professional Boards have more
power to discipline.

?· Requires Department of Health to suspend the license of a physician who
fails to pay a judgment or settlement within 30 days.

?· Creates emergency disciplinary procedures for gross or repeated
malpractice by physicians.

?· Requires Division of Administrative Hearings to designate at least two
Administrative Law Judges with health care experience to preside over
disciplinary actions.

?· Requires colleges and universities to include training in patient safety.

?· Requires a study by the Agency for Health Care Administration to determine
information relevant for consumers in choosing hospitals.

?· Requires a study by the Agency for Health Care Administration of options
for the creation and implementation of a statewide patient safety entity.
Such a facility would collect and analyze data, foster the development of a
statewide electronic infrastructure for sharing data, and analyze patterns
of errors for use in improvement efforts.

?· Requires Department of Health to create a work group to study the
disciplinary process for health care practitioners.


Insurance Reform Highlights

?· Allows the formation of commercial, "self insurance" funds, so physicians
can have alternatives for insurance

?· Provides for a rate freeze through the remainder of the year

?· Provides for medical malpractice rating standards with regard to excessive
rates, and requires discounts or surcharges based on a provider's loss
experience

?· Requires a rate filing effective 1/1/2004 with rate adjustments using a
presumptive factor for this legislation determined by the Office of
Insurance Regulation, with insurer having a burden of proof for justifying
any deviation to OIR

?· Requires annual rate filings

?· Removes the ability for medical malpractice insurer to submit a rate
filing to arbitration

?· Deletes current statutory prohibitions on creation of self-insurance trust
funds, and provides for regulation by the OIR

?· Requires insurers to provide 90 days notice of cancellation or 60 days
notice for rate increases

?· Insurers must notify policy-holders of rate filings

?· Requires an overhaul of data reporting on closed claim data, so the state
has better information in the future which to depend on when making public
policy

?· Requires OIR to annually publish an analysis of closed claim data and
financial reports of medical malpractice insurers

?· Requires and increases the fines for insurers who violate the data
reporting requirements

?· Reforms the bad faith statutes so as to provide insurance companies with a
"safe harbor" period (210 days after suit is filed) in which to evaluate
claims prior to making a settlement decision.

?· Provides factors for use in determining if an insurance company operated
in bad faith during their evaluation of a claim.